Wednesday, April 9, 2008

The campaign against the Western media became a focus point for Chinese discontent, coalescing peoples' frustrations, including concerns over the West's apparent failure to recognize Chinese as victims of Tibetan aggression. This coincided with Beijing's propaganda attack on the integrity of the spiritual leader of Tibet's ethnic minority, the Dalai Lama. Chinese bloggers take offense to suggestions that they are influenced by propaganda, and -- as Rebecca MacKinnon blogged -- suggestions that netizens are brainwashed are not warmly received.

Actually, the question as to what extent propaganda shaped netizens' opinions is beside the point. For all we know, the Wesern media may well exhibit bias concerning China. But how does one go about making this case? That's the question. And therein lies the fundamental problem with the netizens' campaign against the Western media: their disinclination to approach alleged evidence of bias with a critical mindset. If you view the anti-cnn group's evidence with a critical eye, this becomes apparent. For example, I have examined the controversial photo captions, photo cropping, and the Lhasa blogger's statement. I have considered the operational context and timeframe when all this evidence appeared. I have tried to imagine myself in the shoes of Western news media staff. Having looked at the evidence, I found the Chinese netizens' case for Western news media bias to be largely unsubstantiated.

Alarm bells ought to go off in our heads whenever strong claims are made against any person or organization where the claims are not competently attested by the evidence at hand. I wish I could say that this point was central to Chang Ping's (trans) courageous critique of the attack on the Western media, but it was not. Chang Ping, like ESWN blogger, both express disillusionment about where the nationalism now seems to be headed. Yet both blame Western media bias for stirring it up in the first place.

ESWN blogger is right to be concerned that this movement will turn "inwards" (a threat was made against a Chinese blogger). He evokes the specter of a second Cultural Revolution. But in essence, the "outwards" attacks that have targeted the Dalai Lama or Western journalists are not dissimilar. They share a common origin. It is a mindset, not an orientation, from which danger stems; it is your criteria for pulling the trigger, not the direction in which you aim the pistol. The netizens behaved like a herd of blind sheep, few bothering to question the strength of the evidence they were being fed. As I blogged previously:

What cannot be denied is that what appears to have begun as an earnest blogger campaign has morphed into something truly ugly. Chinese websites have spawned "harassment, including violent threats, against foreign reporters who took part in a recent trip to Lhasa" reported the WSJ Monday. Curiously -- and perhaps tellingly -- over the weekend the government of China made no move to censor those posting death threats against Western journalists, despite the requests of foreign press organizations.

Sheep are easily driven by wolves. The Party stands the most to gain should competing sources of information be discredited. The Party is reeping the harvest of the netizens' campaign. At least, that is, in so far as the anti-cnn campaign is "leading people," in Chang Ping's words, "to abandon their trust in objectivity and fairness and hence seek refuse in narrow nationalism" and "draw the conclusion that talk of universal values is deceptive trickery" and perhaps conclude that it is "standard international practice to tell lies."

Moreover, the question begs to be asked: Are there wolves in sheep's clothing?*

A new boundary for Chinese discourse?The most astute Chinese commentary I have read concerning the present controversy was penned by Shen Yuzhe (translated at ESNW). Yet, even this writer declines to point out the weakness of the evidence underling the anti-CNN group. It almost would appear as if to retain a credible voice in China, you have to accept the claims of the anti-cnn campaign at face value, and subscribe to the now widely-held belief in nefarious Western media bias.

Journalists are human, international news organizations have various biases. Fair-minded criticism -- now as always -- rests on the examination of evidence, not innuendo. People anywhere should expect no less of news media, and the world has the right to expect no less of any group of netizens.*____* To what extent the netizens' campaign may have been assisted by China's extensive state propaganda and Internet censorship apparatus we can only speculate at this time. For example, a recent article in FEER by David Bandurski (h/t Rconv.) suggests that Beijing's censorship apparatus has become decentralized and more proactive. He describes one program that includes hundreds of paid "volunteers."

22 comments:

Jotman, you wrote: "Journalists are human, international news organizations may have various biases. Fair-minded criticism -- now as always -- rests on the examination of evidence, not innuendo. People anywhere should expect no less of news media, and the world has the right to expect no less of any group of netizens.*"

This is definitely the right mindset when it comes to journalism. However this is definitely not what journalists on both sides of the Tibetan issue are doing. I stress BOTH because while it's obvious that Chinese media is using Dalai Lama as the scapegoat for all of Tibet's troubles, there are many key items which the Western media has taken propaganda from Dalai Lama's PR team and written them as facts. For example, from the onset of the tibet riot reports, the western media used the term Bloody Crackdown when there is no evidence what so ever to support such. Journalists and tourists at the site on Tibet, all of them have said that the did not witness any suppression by the police. To this day, I have yet to find any credible evidence of a brutal crackdown THIS TIME AROUND. There are many other examples too, such as the claim that Han population is overcrowding Tibet (not according to any type of census conducted), that the Chinese government has discriminatory policies towards Tibetans (the Chinese affirmative action policy actually favors minorities when it comes to education and employment), etc. All of these are either untrue or unproven, yet the Western media continue to use them as facts when discussing Tibet.

Ultimately, there is no doubt that the Western media bias has sparked Chinese nationalism. It's easy to blame this on the Chinese government but the fact is that many if not most of the overseas Chinese such as myself are even more outraged. Unlike the folks who created anti-cnn we have a much better understanding and expectation from the Western media.

I am a Chinese, although I am disagree with my government in many aspects, the recent western media really hurt my emotion and many others.

For example, CNN reported that in Tibet in words like "Chinese police squashed the peaceful protest and 15 people died", but my underground news was that 15 people killed my the mob. I said people not Han Chinese because those mob killed both Han people and Muslim people and some Tibetan they took as traitors. Some of them were burned to death on street in the day light. I am not sure if you are familiar with Tibet history. Those landlords of Tibet used to burn their serfs alive, and call it "heavenly lamp".

The other case about CNN was that after a broadcaster finished "Chinese government used heavy hand to the protesters", they showed an interview of a western tourist talking about how the mob beating a girl randomly on the street. This gave the watchers an illusion that that tourist was talking how police beating the protesters.

Don't let me start Foxnews.

I came to this country for unbiased news and freedom. Now I feel betrayed.

So what you are saying is that the western media should not say anything that might upset the Chinese? Even when the reporting is correct? That is just more weakness in the face of totalitarianism and it doesn't stop the things that the CCP teaches Chinese kids about the West or the types of stories that Xinhua and CCTV conjures up about the West.

The difference is that in the West we are accustomed to critical dialog, ie, we have thicker skin. Also, western countries are behaving like pre-20th century colonial powers or even ancient imperial powers.

Journalists are human, international news organizations have various biases. Fair-minded criticism -- now as always -- rests on the examination of evidence, not innuendo. People anywhere should expect no less of news media, and the world has the right to expect no less of any group of netizens.*

It is exactly the lacking of evidence to back what western media trying to sell to the public trigger the outrage of Chinese people.

A bloodly crack down? if there is no internet, people may be fooled, but not this time.. I have yet to see any evidence to support this claim, but it already become the standard "Fact" every time this issue comes out in TV.

The western media takes whatever the pro-Tibet camp PR provide as facts, and ignore the hard evidence suggesting otherwise, this is not just some inaccurate use of pictures, this is systematic failure of the media in the west, it simply turn its back from the truth, but yet it claim it's objective and fair.. where is the critical mindset when it comes to the pro-tibet camp's propaganda?

Beijing's propaganda?? this laughable, do you know it is the Chinese people living overseas got really angry? most of them do not even watch Chinese TV, they have access to all kind of sources, and they all come to the same conclusion that enough is enough, we have to do something about it this time.

For those of us who were born, bred, and raised in the West, the bias is even more apparent, actually, because our superior English language skills allow us to see nuances and subtle slants that many in China might not. For example, take this post from the AFP.

"Exiled Tibetan leaders say 150 people have died in the Chinese crackdown on the demonstrations. China insists it has acted with restraint and killed no one, while blaming Tibetan "rioters" for the deaths of 20 people."

Let's change it up a bit.

"Exiled Tibetan leaders say 150 people have died in the Chinese crackdown on the "demonstrations". China insists it has acted with restraint and killed no one, while blaming Tibetan rioters for the deaths of 20 people."

Can you spot the difference? Even minor differences such as where to place the " " has a major impact on the slant of the article; by placing the " " on rioters, rather than demonstration, the article implicitly casts doubt on the Chinese depiction of the protests as being violent, even though there isn't a single reputable newspaper or magazine in the world that would outright deny it. And it confers greater relative authenticity on the Tibetan exile claims that 100+ people were killed, even though they have yet to provide names, while the Chinese side has provided names and addresses for all of its claims.

Some people might claim that I'm nitpicking, but I don't believe I am. It's an example of the subtle but unmistakable slant of China/Tibet based news reporting.

Through deceptive methods such as this, many forms of purportedly unbiased Western media slant the news against China, and implicitly casting doubt upon that which they would never dare to directly do; namely, deny that the riots in Tibet were violent and destructive in nature.

This is only one example of something which I've seen in nearly every Western news article. Things like this, many Chinese people might not pick up on, because their grasp of the English language is not as strong as those of us who have been raised and educated in English-speaking countries. But we have, and that is why, almost universally, the overseas Chinese community is also very upset with the 'free press'.

There is something of the Cultural Revolution mindest about this Chinese mob protest against 'media bias' in the west. It's like they're channelling the Boxers and the Red Guards. Seemingly rational people who have been living with CCTV and the People's Daily all their lives suddenly discover media bias? And their unanimous diagnosis is that foreigners hate China. It's like they're all reading from the same script and unable to think in anything other than nationalistic stereotypes.

"So what you are saying is that the western media should not say anything that might upset the Chinese?"

No. Please take another look at what I wrote, that's not what I was trying to say. Otherwise, I agree with your comment.

I think much Western criticism of China needs to be taken in a more positive light by the Chinese. It testifies to peoples' conviction that China has the capacity to grow and become a better country. People want for China to be more than simply an economic giant or global factory. I happen to believe that criticism is one way of paying China a complement. Great nations merit great criticism.

There is a categorical difference between fair criticism and sheer venomous bias. The Chinese populace would readily welcome fair criticims on our country and government. But what the Western media have been engaged in in the past few weeks could only be described as ill-intentioned bashing based not on evidence but deeply ingrained bias and more seriously, misrepresentation of facts.

It boggles my mind therefore that there are people out there bending backwards be apologetic for them and firing back their ire at us saying that we are not able to "take criticisms".

The use of word is deceptive here. China had not been subjected to criticism in the past few weeks. It was untruth, bias and pure venomous bashing that we had been subject to.

Get this fact straight before you lash our your "criticisms" back us.

And stop the condescending implication that the Chinese netizens are swayed by government propoganda. It is an arrogant dismissal of our mental capacity to think critically and independently. It is denying our sense of social justice. It reeks of the stench of eurocentricity.

You still have complex of superiority, which many Westerners have. If a chinese supports its gov over some issues, he/she is brainwashed. How easy your logic is! And you and other Westerners fail to differenciate CCP with China. You thansfer your hatred and fear over communism from CCP to China. That's why western media attacks China so hysterically. You assume you are attacking CCP. But what you are doing is attacking China. that's why Chinese are so angry. you mention the word"sheep". I think it is a good word. But i think Americans are the perfect candidates for the word. Chinese are critical of their government and media. for anything CCP-controlled media said, people just take half and reserve half. BUt as i observe, common westerners are so gullible that they swallow all the spin of their media. Get rid of your superiority complex. then you would have a real understanding about China.

So being born in the US (or any other western country) you feel some loyalty to China? Just because of ethnicity? Don't be fooled, unless you support torching Japan, "embracing" Taiwan with a suffocating grip and getting back all of that alleged "lost territory" from China's neighbors, all you share is some DNA.

Your logic would equate with Caucasian or African Americans getting in a lather over political and etchnic tensions in Africa and Europe. When is the last time you've seen two white guys who know each others' "ethnicity" go at over some pre-WW1 territory incursion or goat killing? Or maybe some black Americans get into it over "tribal oppression".

You are American.

@Jotman:"People want for China to be more than simply an economic giant or global factory."

What people want for China and what China wants for itself are two very different things and that hidden truth is becoming more and more evident.

When? Whenever any person or any media outlet says anything negative about China, the faces get red, the tears start flowing and the retorts start coming about the problems of "other countries" and all of the abuse China has received from everyone else, as if China is the only country that has ever been wronged.

Chinese national wrote: And stop the condescending implication that the Chinese netizens are swayed by government propoganda. It is an arrogant dismissal of our mental capacity to think critically and independently. It is denying our sense of social justice. It reeks of the stench of eurocentricity.

Please have another read of the post, that's was not even my argument. I wrote:

"Actually, the question as to what extent propaganda shaped netizens' opinions is beside the point. For all we know, the Wesern media may well exhibit bias concerning China. But how does one go about making this case? That's the question."

You wrote: It was untruth, bias and pure venomous bashing that we had been subject to.

And I was saying by way of my post: I would like to see some solid evidence. Attacking the Western media without making a good case for claims of "pure venomous bashing" is is counterproductive. Subject your own best evidence to scrutiny.

Of course I make a distinction between the CCP and the Chinese people! That is only fair. Chinese people are not to blame for the misdeeds of their rulers.

And I, for one, am not afraid of any Chinese "communism." What communism? By the looks of things, China barely even seems to practice anything resembling socialism.

As I wrote in another post: "I think the recent rioting needs to be understood with the context of modern China's approach to development. One might call it state-sanctioned crony capitalism run amok. That is the big story: China's policy of "development at all costs" and the high the price Tibetans are paying for it."

@Anonymous: "BUt as i observe, common westerners are so gullible that they swallow all the spin of their media."as a matter of interest, how do you know what "common westerners" swallow? How wide-ranging is your survey of "common westerners" and their attitudes to mass media?One other thing I'm interested in: what determines the half of what the government says Chinese people choose to believe, and the half that they "reserve"? A common comment westerners in Beijing are making to Chinese friends, colleagues, spouses etc at the moment is: "But you don't believe anything the government says about anything else, why do believe what they say about Tibet?"

The way I've approached it is kind of like "Well, duh the media IS bias."

If you watch or read the news, magazines, or blogs with any regularity everyone accuses the media of bias. Hillary Clinton accused them of favoring Obama, Kanye West accused them of showing blacks as looters, and now Chinese netizens are accusing the media of distorting Tibet.

But my view was always to say that the bias is mostly due to carelessness and cultural misconception rather than any sort of conspiracy against China. As you said, the people working in media are simply people, who are prone to mistakes. But my take is, it is the responsibility of the viewer to gain additional perspectives and insight in order to form a more accurate assessment of the situation.

However, Tibet makes it difficult. It's the equivalent of a crime scene where the two main witnesses have a huge incentive to lie and where everyone else has managed only to see bits and pieces of the whole picture.

With that sort of incomplete view, everyone will be prone to speculation, and really we may just never know the truth. Even till now, I don't believe I've seen estimated numbers that were in the protest at all.

Jotman, I trust you are an honest man so I will spend some time to write this comment. If only you watched TV during mid march when they aired the Indian/Nepali police beating Tibetan, again and again, and anchors kept saying "let's see how things are going in Tibet", you will know how serious they have misled the public. And if only you asked 10 average western people if they knew those ppl beating were not Chinese and you found 10 didn't know, among them 8 still believed the Lhasa protest was peaceful but got cracked down, you would know what damage the media has done. I wish someone tape recorded those programs.

Also, I think if you check the news titles there are thousands "brutal crackdown", "police clashing protesters", "100 killed". Now you know all those were total BS.

I will tell you this, my girlfriend only likes pop stars and never cared for politics. On Mar 15 she came home sadly and asked me "why they are so mean to lie, I tried to tell my coworkers those were not Chinese police but they wouldn't believe". She is now saying if there is a protest in NYC, where we live, she will be there telling people the truth.

I've seen you around in all the blogs around the world, arguing the same nasty comment that the Chinese have been brainwashed by CCP. Maybe the case may be true a long long time ago (during Mao's era) when the country was closed and internet was not around then. But here we're right in 21th century. The Chinese at this moment, are heading towards greater participation in big organisation like UN and MNCs around the world. I wonder what 'brainwash' that you are refering to, when in all possibilities they are seeing the world more than you've ever being.

Maybe you, Nanheyangrouchuan is still sleeping in your job or you may some ulterior motive leading you to 'paste' your nasty comment in all blogs around the world.

You ought to be ashamed of yourself for creating nuisance not only to the Chinese but even to non-Chinese like us.

It's easy to lump and label everyone who offend the Chinese identity with the label 'Western'. Well, a lot of other 'non-Western' people like Indians, Koreans, Japanese, or in my cases, Thais, also disapprove of Chinese occupation, oppression, and obliteration of Tibetan and other minorities' culture. We are not as vocal as the 'Westerners' in our protest, but don't mistake that as approval, OK?

I think the current Nationalistic fury in China change my opinion of mainland China quite a bit. I thought the past few decades of economic growth will have made a more nuanced, responsible, and mature China. But this nationalistic fervor reminds me that this is still the same China that came up with crazy things like Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution.. and that actively undermine many Southeast Asian governments.

This raises the spector of expansionist hegemonistic China. From the perspectives of northern Thais where the China's world's largest army is but two hours away by land, maybe China should be contained after all..

The bone of contention for the Chinese netizens -- initially -- was the Western media -- so I keep referring to Western media. But the issue of the attack itself -- how it has been conducted, their methods, aims, and claims -- should be of concern to everyone everywhere. I completely agree it should not be framed as a West Vs. China matter.

Now we see Chinese netizens have launched an malicious attacked against Grace Wang. Again, though she is a student at an American University, this is not a US-China problem, neither is it an an "internal China matter."

If recent London riot had happened in China, BBC would have used such words as "government crackdown, police brutality, peaceful demonstrators, people seek justice and so on." However, when the riots happened in London and Britain, the media reports all used words of "riots, government restored order to society, police arrested terrorists and mobs, etc." Don't you brainwashed biased BBC readers get the picture? Are you going to lobby Nobel peace prizes for those "justice seekers" in London streets? Double standard, racism, bias and hypocricy at the best display! Do some west journalists still think they have any moral cradibility in China?! Don't you realize that majority of Chinese public laugh at your fake "human rights"? Chinese people have much better critical thinking skills.